Molded pulf article



May 25,1943. G. s. WOOD ETAL MOLDED PULP ARTICLE Filed May 11, 1-940- 3 Sheets-Sheet l l INVENTORS Ga 5. ivdd #2206 A/Zv-nfiam ATTORNEY May 25, 1943. e. s. WOOD m,

MOLDED PULP ARTICLE Filed May 11, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Tirzrlll S am 5% Y m; M N../ .R E 0 V A T m 0 T A} a v i u 51M G. S. WOOD ETAL MOLDED PUL P ARTICLE Filed y 11. 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I IEHHH IHI ll ATTORNEY Patented May 25, 19.43

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- MOLDED rm .m'rrcna Guy 8. Wood and Ralph A. Farnham, Herkimer,

N. Y., assignors to International Paper Compony, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 11, 1940, Serial No. 334,504 3 (llaims. (Cl. 229-14) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in liners and particularly seeks to provide a novel liner for use in conjunction with cardboard containers or the like which is formed from molded pulp and which is adapted to encompass and firmly support an object within the container having rims or flanges.

In the packaging of articles such as electric meters or the new sealed beam headlights or other objects of a similar nature which are provided with peripheral flanges or rim portions, a problem has arisen which necessitates the packaging of such articles in a manner that will support them in their containers and prevent damage or breakage thereto. In order to support these objects within the containers in such a manner as to avoid breakage it is necessary that the objects be located within the container in such a position that no part thereof is disposed in direct surface contact with any of the wall portions of the containers.

Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a liner for use in conjunction with cardboard containers or the like which is formed from molded pulp and which is capable of supporting an article within a container in such a manner that no portion of the article is in contact with the container walls.

Another object of the invention is to provide a liner of the character stated which is provided with a. plurality of spaced, parallel, vertically disposed upper projections and aligned lower projections spaced from said upper projections a distance sufficient to define a rim or flangeengaging groove.

Another object of the invention is to provide a liner of the character stated in which the height of the lower projections is greater than the height of theupper projections so that the lower projections will provide supporting surfaces capable of absorbing the weight of an object within the container with which the liner is associated, and the inner surfaces of the upper projections will be disposed in surface contact with side wall portions of the object located within the container to thereby prevent or minimize lateral displacement of the object. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a liner of the character stated which is designed to properly support articles having stepped down portions of reduced diameter and provided with a flange adjacent the plane at which the diametral reduction occurs. the lower projections of the liner being adapted to support the weight of said article and to engage a portion of reduced diameter and the upper projections of the liner being adapted to engage the portion of greatest diameter to thereby retain the article against lateral movement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a liner of the character stated which is simple in design, rugged in construction, and economical to manufacture.

With these and other objects in view, the nature of which will become more apparent, the invention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings, the accompanying detailed description, and the appended claims.

' In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a liner constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on line 2- of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; 5

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of a container assembly employing one of the. liners constructed in 'accordance with the invention;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the assembly taken on line ii-Fof Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of a modified form of liner constructed in accordance with the invention; .7

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. '1;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section taken on line 9--9 of Fig. 7:

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section taken lO-lfl of Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a vertical section taken on line il-l I of Fig. 7;

Fig. 12 is an elevation of a further modification of a liner constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 13 is a horizontal section taken on line lS-li of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a vertical section taken on line ll-ll of Fig. 12;

Fi 15 is an elevation of another formof liner which is provided with two spaced parallel grooves; and a Fig. 16 is a vertical section taken on line lG-IG of Fig. 15.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the invention as illustrated is embodied in a liner 5 which is preferably formed from molded pulp and includes a plurality of spaced, parallel, upper projections 6. Each projection 6 comprises an inner on line panel 1 connected to inclined side panels 3 and an inclined bottom panel 9. It should be noted that the upper end of each projection 6 terminates at the upper edge of the liner. The spaces between adjacent projections 3 are defined by plane areas ID. A plurality of lowerprojections II are disposed in aligned relation to the upper projections and are slightly spaced therefrom. Each lower projection ll includes an inner panel 12, inclined side panels l3 and aninclined upper panel ll. The inclined bottom panels 9 of the upper projections and the inclined upper panels H of the lower projections are disposed in opposed relation to define a longitudinally disposed groove I! which forms a flange-engaging annulus when the liner is inserted in a container. The outer limit of the groove II is defined by a rear wall portion It.

By reference to Fig. of the drawings it will be seen that in use the liner is wrapped-around an article A in such a manner that the groove I5 engages the flanged portion F of the article and the inner panels 1 of the upper projections are disposed substantially insurface contact with the wall portions of the article thereby to prevent lateral displacement thereof. The inclined upper panels ll of the lower projections provide supporting surfaces upon which the weight of the article is carried. In cases where there is a depending portion to the article the inner panel sections i2 of the lower projections function in a manner similar to thepanels I of the upper sections to assist in preventing lateral displacement of the article. When the article or object supported by the liner is so constructed that it has one or more portions of stepped diametral reductions disposed below the flange thereof, the lower projections of the liner will be so proportioned as to extend from the general plane of the liner a distance greater than that of the upper projections in order that the inner panels l2 thereof may be disposed in substantial surface contact with,

the article portions of reduced diameter. Thus it will be readily apparent that an article thus encircled by a liner of the type disclosed herein will be firmly supported within a container in such a manner that no portion of said article will be in direct contact with any wall portion of the container imelf. It should be observed that the upper and lower projections individually conform to the shape of a truncated trapezoidal prism and are therefore possessed of high inherent structural strength. If it should become desirable to increase the strength of the individual projections to prevent any tendency towards lateral collapsing thereof, additional end panels may be employed at the tops of the upper projections and the bottoms of the lower projections, thus bulkheading each end of each projection.

It is of course to be realized that the exact vertical location of the groove II may be varied according to the requirement of the articles to be supported and, correspondingly, the vertical lengths of both the upper and lower projections may be varied in accordance with the requirements of vertical clearance of the articles supported thereby.

In Figs. 7 to 11 of the drawings there is illustrated a modified form of liner II which includes a plurality of spaced relatively wide upper projections l3. Each upper projection l3 includes an inner panel I3, inclined side panels and inclined bottom panels 2 I. The spaces between the projections I8 are defined by plane areas 22 which terminate in top inclined portions 23. A plurality of lower projections 24 are disposed in aligned relation to the upper projections and spaced therefrom. Each lower projection includes an inner panel comprising a pair of adjacent inclined panels 25 meeting in a fold line 28, sharply inclined side panels 21 and inclined upper panels 23. The inclined upper panels and the inclined lower panels 2| of the upper projections together define a flange-enga ing groove 29. The lower projections are divided in half vertically by the fold line 23 which is also extended vertically to provide a line of fold dividing the upper projections in half. The rear wall of the groove 23 is comprised of'a plurality of arcuate segments 33, the end limits of which are individually defined by adjacent pairs of fold lines 26. It should be noted that the ends of the segments merge substantially with the planes of the inner panel sections I3, 25 of the upper and lower projections respectively, and therefore the bottom panels 2| and the top panels 28 will have to be shaped to correspond therewith and form the proper intersections.

The upper edge of theliner is provided with a plurality of normally vertically disposed tabs or flaps 3| located between adjacent pairs of scores 26 and which are provided with inclined edge portions 32 and one or more molded projections 33 disposed to either side of the inclined top panel portions 23 and which are adapted to over- In using this modified form of liner it should be observed that when the liner is wrapped around an article the arcuate segments 30 of the groove 29 which conform to the radius of curvature of the flange will become disposed in surface contact with the flange of the article and that the plane areas 22 between each set of upper and lower projections are disposed in surface contact with the inside wall portions of the container. The adjacent half sections of each of the panel portions i9 and 25 will contact the outer wall portions of the article retained therein. The flaps 3| are turned inwardly to overlie the top of the article and the projections 33 formed in said flap contact the top of the article and serve to cushion the article against shocks after a closure is applied to the container.

In Figs. 12 to 14 of the drawings there is illustrated a further modification of the invention which comprises a liner 34 generally similar to the liner 5 disclosed in Fig. l, but which includes a plurality or series of adjacent upper projections 35 including inner panels 36, inclined panels 31 meeting in apices or fold lines 38, and inclined bottom panels 33. This form of panel also includes the complementary lower projections disposed in aligmnent with the upper projections and provided with inner panels 4|, side panels 42 meeting in apices or fold lines 43 disposed in vertical alignment with the apices 33 and inclined upper panels 44. The inclined upper panels 44 of the lower projections and the inclined lower panels 39 of the upper projections together defining a rim or flange-engaging groove 45.

It should be observed that the angles 0 at which the complementary panels 39 and 44 are disposed can be so regulated that they will engage the flange of the object to be supported by the liner with a rather snug fit. The groove 45 may be of such depth that the rear wall 46 thereof may be disposed in substantial surface contact with the outer peripheral portions of the object flanged to thereby assure rigid support of the object bythe liner. The angles at which the groove-defining panels of the other described forms of liners may of course be also disposed in a like manner if desirable.

In Figs. 15 and 18 of the drawings there is illustrated a form oi liner generally similar to that disclosed in Figs. 1-6, but which is provided with an upper groove 01 disposed in spaced parallel relation to the normal or lower groove II. This upper groove may be provided for two reasons; first, in the packaging of unusually tall flanged articles, it may be desirable to strengthen the upper projections so that any tendency towards lateral deflection thereof will be minimized; and second, the provision of the upper groove may be necessary to accommodate the upper flange of an article having two flanges.

The lateral strengthening of the upper projections is provided by the opposed panel portions ll defining the upper groove and forming generally transverse bulkheads in the upper projections.

Thus it will be seen that the herein disclosed invention provides a novel liner formed from molded pulp for use in conjunction with packaging containers and which includes a plurality of parallel vertical upper projections and a plurality of lower projections disposed in alignment with the upper projections and spaced therefrom to thereby define a groove adapted to receive the flange of an article to be supported; in which the lower projections extend from the general plane of the liner a distance greater than that of the upper projections to thereby provide supporting surfaces to absorb the weight of the article and to provide inner panel portions adapted to engage article portions of reduced diameter to prevent lateral movement thereof; and which is simple in design, rugged in construction, and economical to manufacture.

It is of course to be understood that various details and proportions of the invention may be modified without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A wrapper formed from molded pulp for use in packaging generally cylindriform articles having flanges intermediate their ends, comprising a generally plane sheet having a series of vertically disposed parallel upper projections extending above the plane of the sheet, a series of lower projections disposed in individual align- 10 projections.

2. A wrapper'formed from molded pulp for use in packaging generally cylindriform articles having flanges intermediate their ends, comprising a generally plane sheet having a series of II vertically disposed parallel upper projections extending above the plane of the sheet, a series of lower projections disposed in individual alignment with said upper projections and spaced therefrom, said upper and lower projections havso ing the configurations of truncated prisms and being disposed with the truncated ends thereof in opposed relation to thereby define a horizontally disposed groove adapted to receive the flange of an article with which the wrapper is to be assoas ciated, and a series of vertical score lines bisecting each opposed pair of upper and lower projections, the rear wall of said groove being comprised of a series of arcuate segments, the end limits of each of which are defined by adjacent 00 pairs of said scores.

' 3. In a liner made from molded fibrous material for use in conjunction with packaging containers, the combination of a series of elongated vertically disposed parallel upper projections exas tending transversely beyond the general plane of the liner and extending longitudinally downwardly from the upper edge of said liner, with a series of elongated vertically disposed parallel lower projections extending transversely beyond 4. the general plane of the liner and extending longitudinally upwardly from the lower edge of said liner, said upper and lower projections having the configurations of truncated prisms and being disposed with the truncated ends thereof as in generally opposed spaced relation to thereby define a groove extending horizontally from one vertical edge of said liner to the other, said groove being adapted to receive and give vertical support to the flange of an article with which the 80 liner is to be associated.

GUY S. WOOD. RALPH A. FARHHAM. 

